The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Rudbeckia plant, botanically known as Rudbeckia occidentalis, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Black Beauty.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rypwetering, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Rudbeckia cultivars with small inflorescences with black-colored disc florets that develop uniformly.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1994 of two unidentified seedling selections of Rudbeckia occidentalis. 
The cultivar Black Beauty was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Rypwetering, The Netherlands.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by divisions harvested at Rypwetering, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Rudbeckia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Black Beautyxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Black Beautyxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1 1. Upright plant habit.
1 2. Relatively small inflorescences.
1 3. Disc florets that are almost black with golden yellow pollen.
Plants of the cultivar Black Beauty have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
Plants of the new Rudbeckia are smaller, have glossier leaves and more uniform disc floret development than plants of both parent seedling selections.